Dales Pony

History
 The Dales Pony comes from the eastern slope of England's Pennines Range, originating from the ancient Pennine Pony that once lived there and the now extinct Scottish Galloway. When the Romans invaded the area between 43 and 410 AD, they discovered the the small ponies were strong, so they began using the ponies to carry heavy loads of lead from various to mines to mills. Often, the ponies would travel as much as 200 hundred miles a week without tiring.

 Later, Norfolk Trotter, Yorkshire Roadster, and Friesian blood was added to the mix, creating a pony with even more speed and substance, as well as flashy knee action from the trotter. In the eighteenth century, the agile pony with lots of stamina became favored by hunters. To improve the gait of the pony, a Welsh Cob stallion by the name Comet was breed to the dales in the 1850s. Not long after that, with the improvement of roads, the Dales became a stage coach horses.

 In 1916, the breed stud book was opened and the Dales Pony Improvement Society was formed. It was in the early part of this century, however, that the breed was hit pretty bad. They were used during the first World War and again in World War II. World War II almost brought the end of the breed. Hundreds of mares were taken by the army to by used for breeding cavalry mounts, many never to return to their homeland again. In 1964, The Dales Pony Improvement Society, who then changed their name to the Dales Pony Society, began to make efforts to save the breed. They searched for Dales Ponies, registering them and breeding them. Over the next seven years, the number of ponies steadily increased. Today, only about 300 exist in North America.

Dales Ponies and strong and sturdy, commonly coming in black.
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Breed Description and Uses
 Dales Ponies, standing 14 hands high on average, are sturdy and muscular. They have strong, solid hooves, often tinted blue; clean legs with some feathering on them; sloping shoulders; arched necks; a straight profile; and a small muzzle. They are most commonly black, but bay, gray, and roan sometimes occurs.

 The Dales' endurance makes it excellent in almost every equestrian sport, particularly driving and English sports.

The Connemara Pony

History
  More a thousand years ago, small, Shetland-like ponies roamed the rocky coast of Western Ireland. They remained untouched by other breeds of horses until the fifth and sixth century, when raiders brought Celtic ponies with them. These ponies bred with the Shetland-like one. Over the next few centuries, more horses, possibly Spanish Jennets(extinct) and Irish Hobby horses, came to Western Ireland, mixing with the native breed. The result was the famous Connemara, who is believed to have inherited its smooth gaits from the Jennet and the Hobby horses.

The Connemara
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 As with many other breeds, the Connemara began as a farm horses(ponies). Poor farmers would capture one, usually a mare, and train it for farm work using food was much better than that found in the wild. Because most families only owned one, the pony had to be able to perform a variety of tasks: driving, plow pulling, riding, and even breeding.

 Throughout the 19th century, Arabian blood was continually added to the Connemara as a way of refining it. However, in the late 1800s, the number of Connemara took a plunge. Many died during the Potato Famine, when people had better things to worry about than the continuation of the breed. Nevertheless, the breed managed to survive through the Irish government's efforts to preserve it by adding Hackney, Thoroughbred, Norfolk, Yorkshire Roadster, and Welsh blood to it. Today, the government still checks the beed yearly, inspecting it to see whether it is suitable for breeding.

Breed Description and Uses
 Connemaras are nimble, sure-footed horses, able to leap stone walls and canter over uneven ground. Standing 12.2 to 15 hands high, the ponies have round haunches and long legs with high knee action and ground-covering strides. Their coats come in brown, dun, black, gray, and chestnut.

 Because of their athletic ability, Connemaras are often used are sport horses in England.